I know this is very late but I have watched the Eagles game three times, including one focusing solely on defensive and offensive linemen.  With so many new faces around, with the surprise departure of Adam Seward, and standout performances from a few... I thought it would be good to take a look at last week's game before we take a quick look ahead to the last two week of preseason.

Who Looked Good?

Cornerback:

Jacob Lacey -

While Lacey did not have as many opportunities to lay punishing hits on defenders against the Eagles as he did against the Vikings, he still displayed speed, quickness, and the ability to stick closely to his opponent in man coverage.  For the second week in a row he made a play on a ball in coverage.  Unfortunately he failed to haul it in for a turnover but it has been relatively rare to see someone so consistently in passing lanes, getting his hands on the ball, and having the opportunity to force turnovers in coverage in the Colts defensive scheme.  If he looks good again against the Lions, I will pull hard for him as a dark horse roster candidate in the secondary.

Linebacker:

Ramon Humber -

While Tauiliili was the special teams star of the game against the Vikings, Humber was the special teams start against the Eagles.  Multiple tackles while on the coverage units, forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble on defense, culminate in a solid day.  He also played well in week 1 and the two games together have pushed him up in the competition for back-up linebacker spots.  This is clear now as Adam Seward was released early this week.

Adam Seward -

Seward looked stout again against the Eagles.  A solid run stopper and continually right near the ball on special teams coverage units.  Frankly, his release early this week was a total shock to me.  I hope we don't live to regret that decision.  The Jaguars quickly snagged him up.  Keiaho, on the other hand, cleared waivers and seemingly drew no legitimate interest.  Am I missing something?

Defensive End:

Curtis Johnson -

Johnson is a player I have been looking forward to seeing this pre-season.  In the Eagles game he looked like a solid special teams contributor and very quick on defense.  He, once again, reminded me of the speed Freeney and Mathis have shown by making plays at places on the field no one would expect to see them.  Two years ago this team lacked speedy pass rushing depth.  Johnson is the only speed pass rushing depth on the team other than Marcus Howard.  If he continues to perform well on special teams and develops at defensive end, he may still make the team despite a very deep competition on the defensive line.

Wide Receiver:

Austin Collie -

Collie has shown exactly what Colts fans have been looking for from a slot receiver.  A player who, like Brandon Stokely, provides a consistent release for Peyton Manning  in the middle of the field.  Is Austin Collie going to be a crazy deep threat like a Wes Welker or as shifty as Brandon Stokely was in his best years with the Colts?  Possibly not.  Will he provide a reliable, consistent target for Manning on third downs, in the red zone, and create some coverage concerns for opposing defenses?  So far, all he has shown, indicates that he will do that.  If he does, the Colts passing game will be very powerful.

Reggie Wayne -

There is little to say about Reggie Wayne that has not been said before.  He's clearly a perennial Pro Bowl talent at receiver in the NFL to this point.  He has established himself as the 1A receiver on a team that included sure-fire Hall-of-Famer Marvin Harrison.  What he has shown to this point in 2009 indicates that he will be playing at a level matching or exceeding the highest of his career.  If he is playing at that level, if Collie is continues to perform at this level, and if Anthony Gonzalez continues to show the kind of chemistry he showed in that "Marvin" fade route in the red zone against the Vikings, the offense could be very scary this year.

Running Back:

Lance Ball - 

While Ball didn't look like a super star, he certainly seemed to separate himself from Chad Simpson.  This is good news for Ball, as he started the summer 5th on the depth chart at RB, behind Addai, Brown, Hart, and Simpson.  As Simpson has done little to distinguish himself as the clear third option in the backfield or on special teams, Ball needed to show a flash of being the better option in a reserve role.  In this game he has done enough to do that.  Now he needs to reinforce that performance and perception against Detroit.  The biggest surprise for me from Ball this pre-season has been his relatively soft hands.

Quarterback:

Curtis Painter -

Once again Painter did nothing to set the world on fire.  However, he looked much more comfortable in the pocket and has more of a commanding presence on the field than I have seen from Sorgi in pre-seasons past.  That doesn't mean that Painter is ready to take over for Sorgi as a rookie.  It does potentially mean that Painter is the best back-up quarterback candidate we've seen since Sorgi and the one who may have the greatest chance of surpassing Sorgi's "upside," ultimately replacing him as the 2nd quarterback on the depth chart.  Potentially as soon as next year.

Offensive Line:

Kyle DeVan -

Needless to say, the offensive line has not looked stable yet this pre-season.  Something has got to change in a hurry and it would seem that the biggest problem on the team is at the left tackle position.  With Ugoh struggling to nail down the starting spot and Johnson seemingly playing out of position, there is no doubt that the offensive line is in a state of flux.  That said, Jamey Richard and Steve Justice have both been considered potential heirs to Jeff Saturday at Center but neither has locked down the job.  Kyle DeVan looked really good at Center against the Eagles.  To me, he looked like the real deal and has come the closest to looking like a legitimate heir to Saturday than the other young players we're brought in to develop along the interior of the offensive line.

Punt Returner:

T.J. Rushing -

The first time T.J. Rushing has had a legitimate chance to return a punt this year and he does an outstanding job.  Is he the most dangerous returner in the NFL?  No.  Is he a top tier returner in the NFL?  Not even close.  Is he the best pure return man on the Colts this year?  Well, it wouldn't take much but he's the only returner on the 2009 Colts who has touched the ball and even remotely resembled a threat.  For that, he deserves recognition.

Tight End:

Jacob Tamme -

I'm not so quick to write of some of our young players who've been riddled by injuries, frankly because at this point if we did we'd be without nearly half of the players we've drafted or added in free agency over the last three or so years.  I entered this season with high hopes for Tom Santi and we may yet see him develop into the 2nd TE or we may see him released before the regular season begins.  Either way, we saw Tamme take a step toward that position against the Eagles and probably the most promising receiving young receiving tight end we've seen since... well... Dallas Clark.  Has he proven enough to be compared to Clark?  Of course not.  Still, if he can build on the Eagles game... he'll be very impressive in a short period of time.

Who Didn't?

Offensive Line:

Tony Ugoh -

First, I want to make clear that I've closely scrutinized the tape on Ugoh from the Eagles game. Much of the "problems on the left side of the offensive line" with the 2nd unit were played up by the announcers.  There were 5 times I saw Ugoh do a less than stellar blocking job.  Surprisingly enough, 3 of those five were running plays.  One potential missed assignment (downfield too soon), once he dismissed his assignment too early (or Simpson got to the LOS too slowly), and once he was beat inside.  The two times he performed poorly in pass protection he was beat inside.  He gave up no sacks, the QB was hit by his man only once.  He had one legitimate penalty, a false start.  Charlie Johnson look pretty good with the first team but gave up a sack and allowed a forced fumble.  He also played three series while Ugoh played for most of three quarters.   Jaime Thomas made a number of mistakes next to Ugoh that hurt the blocking on the left-side as well.  Did he do well?  Not really?  Did he make a case for the starting position?  No.  Was he holy cow you stink?  On a third look he wasn't as bad as it may have appeared at first glance.

Kick Returner:

Sam Giguere -

I am not entirely sure what Sam Giguere looked like during his two kick returns against the Eagles.  I do know what he didn't look like, he didn't look like a kick returner.  Hopefully he has a chance to look good catching passes from the quarterback.  Otherwise, John Matthews looks like a project which much more upside than Giguere has shown to this point.

Others Worth Noting:

Starting Offensive Line - The first string unit did an excellent job both in pass protection and run blocking.  Yes, that includes Charlie Johnson.  Sure, the DE on Johnson got in and forced a fumble.  Other than that one time getting to Manning, however, they were flawless.  Much improved.

Clint Session - Are you kidding me?  He's looking like a stud.

Ed Johnson - Johnson looked good again to me.  Made a couple of nice plays standing up the line against the run.  Also showed the ability to push the pocket.  Looking good to me.

Josh Thomas - Watched him closely and he plays the run like a DE is supposed to play the run.  He also got some penetration on a stunt.  Looked very good.

Matt Giordano - Not a deep coverage safety.

Fili Moala - After a lackluster week 1, Moala looked pretty good on the line against the Eagles.  Pretty regular penetration, which is what we're hoping to get from him.

Jaime Thomas - Didn't do a whole lot to make Tony Ugoh's job easier on the left side of the second-string offensive line.